State of the garden address...

Since i now have itty bitty babies starting to sprout I thought I would share with you what is going on in the garden these days. Through pictures, of course. :-) There will be many more of these updates I will assure you of that because there are varieties I have never grown before and well... in my haste to get things planted before dark and having to wait a full 2 weeks I planted out things without marking them. That means I'll be second guessing not only what they are and when to harvest them but just which veggie it is that I had planted in what spot and so forth.

Now I realize this is a rookie mistake but on that same token I also know that given time I'll recognize 95% of these veggies. Patience may not be my virtue but I'm certainly not new to this game and it won't be the first time I've planted an entire garden without any markers. *snort* I mean I know what I planted, I just don't know in which order or in some instances which variety. (4 types of spinach to chose from after all!)

But for now I give to you in all their glory - my infants!

These were all planted a week ago,

and are doing well.

The onions are already sprouting - that is pretty amazing. The last sets I planted took 10 days for most of them to peek out! Seems I'll have the peas up within a day - the earth looks disturbed but the first leaves have not broken the surface yet. Best guesses besides the onion is radish, some sort of green - tatsoi probably, carrot, leek and spinach.

The berry planter is looking good. The Festival strawberries have been planted out for 2 weeks and are going strong. Another 2 weeks and there will be tremendous growth.

The other young and tender seedlings that have emerged in the last few weeks include mostly salad accompaniments:

Different radishes, several lettuce and carrot varieties....

The older plants that are still going strong include the hot peppers, citrus, tomatoes, marigolds that have flushed with fall colors, and limas (but they are ugly these days so no picture!)

The peas are filing out nicely now and will be ready for harvest this week!!!!

This little beauty is giving me some scrumdiliumptious chocolate cherry tomatoes. Well - at least that is the word the kids used. I am yet to taste them. But there are plenty of green ones left. Hopefully they will ripen and I will get some sooner or later.

The last of my warm weather veggies to still be going strong are my remaining peanut crop, a few green beans, and the tomatillos. They seem ever present in my garden from spring until frost and I like it that way. If they didn't attract the darn lined beetle I'd have them all over!

I hope you enjoyed a look at what's growing in the garden. Next month things will surely change as the cooler weather has already come for a short visit and the nights are staying rather chilly (for us) now.  The peanuts will be harvested to make space for more cool weather friends. Shortly after will come our first frost and the rest of the warm weather things will be laid to rest until spring.

I hope that the seedlings hold their own for a week while we travel for Thanksgiving. We set the new irrigation system for a short watering pattern and are testing it out this week to make sure all is well. So far it all looks great! The neighbors must think I'm entirely insane out with a flashlight at night - but they also have asked me to help them build a bed this spring so I guess they don't think I'm too crazy! :-D (That or the crazies are catching....)

'Till next time!

Barbie~